


The Family You Chose

by UP2L8



Series: Sex Shop AU [5]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, because enquiring minds wanted to know, just some background on Roy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 03:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17418500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UP2L8/pseuds/UP2L8
Summary: Roy noticed the blonde girl bundled up in a hot pink puffy parka and matching leggings leaning against an older model Honda Civic when he pulled into the strip mall parking lot, but he didn’t really pay her any mind.Until she marched over to intercept him on his way to Pothos Boutique.“What’s your game, Mustang?” she demanded.





	The Family You Chose

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back. Just for a moment. Only read this over once, so if you see any glaring typos, let me know. 😊

Roy noticed the blonde girl bundled up in a hot pink puffy parka and matching leggings leaning against an older model Honda Civic when he pulled into the strip mall parking lot, but he didn’t really pay her any mind. 

Until she marched over to intercept him on his way to Pothos Boutique. 

“What’s your game, Mustang?” she demanded. 

A thousand possible responses flooded his mind in the split second it took him to answer. Twenty questions. Can I go first? Dodging responsibility. Have a nice day!  Games are for children. What’s yours little girl? 

“That would depend on who’s asking,” he said mildly. When in doubt, remain calm and begin evasive maneuvers. 

The girl, probably in her early twenties, snorted contemptuously. “Dodging a question and fishing for information at the same time. You should be in politics.” 

“So I’ve been told.” Roy kept his expression neutral. “Unfortunately, I can’t offer a more suitable response at this time without clarifying details as to what you actually want to know. And perhaps not even then.” 

Another snort. Crossing her arms, the girl tilted her head and peered at Roy through narrowed eyes bluer than a clear summer sky. “I’m a friend of Edward Elric. A _very good_ friend.” 

Ah. Roy looked toward Pothos, and then farther along the strip. Fat Bastard Burritos was the only option for a sit-down conversation that didn’t involve a five minute drive or ten minute walk with an aggrieved _very good_ friend. 

Roy proposed this option. It was grudgingly accepted. The fact that it was 8:30 pm in January and cold as hell standing in a wind swept parking lot probably had something to do with it. 

Fat Bastard was empty, warm, and quiet. The rich aroma of grilled steak and cilantro wrapped around the silent pair as they stepped up to the counter and ordered. Roy’s treat. Under the circumstances it was only fair. It took five uncomfortable minutes for their order to be prepared. For Roy it was five minutes of impending doom. 

There were no tables in the small eatery. Instead, a few stools were set along a counter under the storefront window – an eat and get the hell out atmosphere. No matter. Roy didn’t see this conversation taking very long. He didn’t bother to unwrap his food. Why he had ordered anything beyond coffee was a mystery. He didn’t really feel like eating. 

Roy decided to get this over with. 

“I haven’t known him for very long. We have only ever been out for coffee. Three times to be exact,” he stated. “Tonight we had planned to go to East Side Mario’s after his shift. Please believe me when I tell you that I didn’t know he . . . I didn’t know about . . . you.” 

The girl looked confused for a moment. Then her eyes widened. 

Just before she bust out in an incredulous squawk of laughter. 

“You think that me and Ed are together?” she said, shaking her head. “We’re not. That’s not what this is about.” She grimaced, muttering under her breath, “Note to self, put more emphasis on the ‘friend’ part next time.” Her attention turned back to Roy. “No, this is way worse than a confrontation over some stupid act of infidelity. This is about your _intentions_.” 

Roy was certain that the emphasis was now on the correct word. He wasn’t sure if he was more relieved to know that Edward wasn’t taken – and a cheater, though that particular character flaw seemed a complete non sequitur - or more apprehensive about this girl’s intents and purposes. 

“As I said, we haven’t really known each other for very long,” Roy started again, slowly. “I suppose that my intention is to get to know him a little better and move forward from there.” 

The girl looked skeptical. Roy wondered how he might steer this conversation toward a positive conclusion, preferably as quickly as possible. The girl took a deep breath. 

“Roy Mustang. Thirty-one years old. Single. Never married.” She was ticking off his stats on her fingers as she recited them. “Graduated K.H. Bradley Collegiate IB Program summa cum laude, valedictorian. Accepted by the National Military Academy, full scholarship. Pi Sigma Alpha _and_ Sigma Pi Sigma. Graduated top of your class. Served on active duty in Africa under General George ‘Old Man’ Grumman. Nigeria. Somalia. Uganda. Sudan. Your unit was involved in Project Disarm, which failed spectacularly.” 

Roy stared. Who was this girl, and how did she come by this information? Most was public knowledge. Some was most definitely not. 

“You served your mandatory five years active, and then you quit. Dropped out of sight for a year. Resurfaced two years ago as a war correspondent for Global News. Now you’re the youngest managing editor on the national desk that they’ve ever had.” 

“Hmm,” Roy said thoughtfully, biting back a smirk. “Sounds exactly like the kind of shady thug that you might want to warn a friend to be careful around.” 

The girl ignored the thinly veiled acrimony and plowed on. 

“What’s a successful, put together, mature guy like you want with a nineteen-year-old student working a shit job who’s just getting started?” Her eyes were diamond hard. “He’s young. He’s attractive. He’s also mouthy and crude. What is the actual draw?” 

“Young and attractive are definitely part of it,” Roy admitted. “Smart, strong, and passionate are part of it too. He’s a brat, but for me that’s part of his appeal. As I said, I want to get to know him.” Hopefully in the biblical sense as well, but Roy kept that part to himself. 

The girl was still giving him the stink eye. Then she lobbed another grenade. 

“Your aunt is Chris Mustang, AKA Madam Christmas. She owns Whispers. Do you want me to outline what I know about that establishment?” The girl glanced toward the kitchen. 

So did Roy. The Fat Bastard wait staff were in the back, doing whatever it is that restaurant staff do when they aren’t serving food, and nowhere near close enough to be listening. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. 

“No.” And from where in _hell_ was she getting her information? 

“Good. I might forget to keep my voice down.” She glared at him. “You head hunting for your aunt, Mustang? See an attractive young guy working in a sex shop and figure you can groom him for Madam Christmas’ side business? Do you get a commission?” 

His first reaction was shock. Anger followed immediately on its heels. 

The Madam’s ‘side business’ was about offering vulnerable young people a means to escape the trap that was destroying their lives, not ensnaring them. This little snoop knew a lot, but she didn’t really have a clue. 

And it was not Roy’s job to educate her. Ed’s friend or not, the gloves were off. 

“You seem to be a bit confused,” Roy said, loosing his condescending smirk, full wattage. “Association with an establishment that involves sexual gratification, even second hand – and no pun intended of course – does not in any way imply immorality or criminality on the part of the associate, be it an employee in an adult novelty store or a relative of a nightclub owner steeped in dark rumor. Does Edward know that you hold an unfairly low opinion of him, simply because he sells sex toys?” 

That did not generate the defensive reaction Roy was expecting. 

“Hmm,” the girl muttered to herself. “Gotta watch out for the old ‘turn the tables’ trick with this one.” She refocused on Roy. “What was that? An attack because I got it right, or because I got it wrong? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.” 

“You got it wrong,” Roy said flatly. “If you’re worried about my motives, perhaps you should take this up with Edward.” Because you are _not_ scaring me away. 

“Oh, I have,” the girl said with a roll of her eyes. “He says I’m wrong about you, but he’s been bitten in the ass really, _really_ hard before and I worry, you know?” 

Roy didn’t respond. There was actually nothing he could say to convince this girl that his intentions were, well, not exactly _pure_ , but absolutely not malicious. Nor did he want to. It was Edward who needed to know that, and it appeared that he already did. 

“He’s mentioned a few things,” she continued with a shrug. “Not much. Get him going on anything to do with science and you can’t shut him up, but getting him to open up about anything personal is like trying to ride a tricycle up a spiral staircase. I’ve managed to pry out enough to know that he likes spending time with you. Probably too much, if my suspicions are correct.” 

“They aren’t,” Roy told her. A simple statement of fact. 

The girl ignored him. “I know Ed is strong enough to protect himself, physically at least.” Her eyes glinted dangerously. “I want to make sure he doesn’t have to.” 

“Warning acknowledged.” 

“Oh, that wasn’t the warning part of this conversation,” the girl told him with a sparkle in her eyes. “My Gran lives out in the boonies. On one hundred and forty-two acres. That land has been in my family for generations, and while it used to be cleared farmland, it’s been growing wild for nearly a century.” Her grin was pure evil. “Great place to hide a body. You would never be found. Oh, did I say ‘you’? I meant ‘it’ of course.” 

“Again, warning acknowledged.” 

Roy stood up. So did the girl. She scooped up her burrito and took it with her when she left. Roy dumped his in the trash on the way out. 

It was even colder now. Roy took a deep, cleansing breath of the crisp air and watched as the girl passed Pothos and made her way to her old Honda. She turned and gave him a flippant wave as she got in. The car started, and she drove away. 

Well. That had certainly been an unpleasant surprise. 

But Roy wasn’t going to let it stop him from appreciating his evening. It had been quite the task to get Edward to agree to an actual date with him, and nothing was going to prevent Roy from enjoying it. Not the cold, not his haunted past, and certainly not meddling though well-intentioned friends. 

At two minutes to nine Roy’s arrival at Pothos was much later than expected, and though Edward brushed off Roy’s apology, he could tell that the younger man was relieved to see him. He’d probably thought that he had been stood up. 

Anichka was in the process of cashing out the register. She shooed the two men out the door with a wink. Ed locked it behind him, then fell into step beside Roy as they trekked through the frigid night air to the parking lot. Roy’s arm wanted to slide around Ed’s shoulders to pull him close, so to distract it Roy fished out his car keys to unlock the doors. 

Edward burst out laughing. 

“Of course you drive a Mustang,” Edward said gleefully. “You’re such a dork!” 

Roy held up a hand as he opened Ed’s door. “Guilty,” he admitted with a grin. 

“Cherry red, too,” Ed returned the grin. 

“Fire engine red, if you please,” Roy corrected with a disdainful sniff. 

Ed was shaking his head as he slid into the passenger seat, but he looked up with an expression so fond that Roy literally forgot to breath. 

No, blonde girls with too much information were nowhere near enough to scare Roy away from spending time with Ed. 

Roy’s biggest problem at that moment was holding himself back when he so desperately wanted to lean in and kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m currently working on the next one, but I’m also still really busy, so don’t expect anything soon. ☹


End file.
